Packing



Oct. 10, 1939. Q D* Hl BENTLEY 2,175,868

PPPPP NG Patented Oct. 10, 1939 PACKING Oliver D. H. Bentley, Norfolk, Mass., assigner to B. F. Sturtevant Company, Hyde Park, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application October 30, 1936, Serial No. 108,457

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to packing for yrotating shafts and the like to prevent the passage of air, steam, or other fluid axially thereof.

Heretofore it has been a common practice in 5 the-construction of packing for rotating shafts,A

as, for example, in the case of steam turbines, to provide a plurality or series of packing members disposed axially along the shaft. This ar.- rangement, while successfully used in turbines 1. having a low exhaust pressure, is unsatisfactory where a high pressure is employed, being sub- Jected under such conditions to rapid wear with resulting leakage and `the necessity of frequent replacements. Inasmuch as the turbine must be ll stopped in operation and a portion of the casing removed in order to replace the worn and defective packing, such lrepair involved not only substantial expense, but often a very objectionable interference with the operation of the plant m in such portions as were dependent upon the turbine.

Ithas been found that where such a packing is exposed to high pressure, the wear, and deterloration is excessive, being proportionately I many times greater than at low pressure, actual tests indicating that the rate of wear varies approximately as the cube of the pressure. It is bel lieved that the rapid.wear of the packingy under such conditions is because each packing member I of the series is subjected in turn to the entire high pressure. Thus, the ilrst member carries the full exhaust pressure until wear and leakage develop, when the pressure is transferred to the second member. This member holds the presl. sure temporarily, but soon wear Aoccurs and leakage results/,and the third memberlreceives the pressure. So in a relatively short period of time the entire series becomes worn and leaky due to the fact thatcach bears successively the full 4 pressure.

It is the object of the present invention to avoid rapid wear on a packing member subjected to a high pressure'by applying a controlled counterpressure to the member so that the effective pres- 4. upon the member shall be substantially re-4 duced, l

A further object of the present invention is to provide a packing for high pressures wherein 50l each of a series of packing members is subjected to only a fractional parl; ci' the total pressure.

Other objects are to ,cr-wide simple and etreetivc apparatus for continuously indicating the enectiveness of the series ci packing members as 55 a whole while in regular operation, and also for determining and adjusting the amount of presf sure carried by eachl of the members.

. With these objects in view, a feature of the present invention is the application of a-controlled, reduced, counter pressure to the pack- 5 ing member or members. Another feature is the application .of controlled counter pressures in progressively reduced amounts to successive pack-- ing members of a'series. Another feature is the provision of adjustable, automatically-operating l.

relief valves for controlling the direct and counter pressures on the packing members. Still another feature is an indicating device with connections and controls for indicating the direct Aand counter pressures u'pon the several packing u members.

A vfurther feature is an indicating apparatus for showing the rate of escape or passage of the steam or other fluid through or past the last of the .series .ofpacking members to indicate the eifectiveness of the packing 'and `thus warn the operator when repairs or replacements are required.

In the Vaccompanying drawing which illustrates what is now considered a preferred form of the presentllnvention as applied to a steam turbine operating with high exhaust pressure. Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a portion of a casing and shaft of such a turbine provided with the improved packing, and Fig. 2 is a horizontal section' on a reduced scale of a portion of the casing showing a modication of the same.

Fig. 1 illustrates a rotating turbine shaft II extending through the wall of the casing I3. Secured to the turbine casing and surrounding the projecting portion of the shaft is the packing unit which comprises the casing I5 provided on its inner periphery with a plurality or series of annular packing chambers. The chamber il nearest the turbine casing for convenience will be 40 termed the primary chamber, and the other chambers I9, 2|, 23 and 25 will be termed the secondary. chambers. In-each chamber, both primary and secondary, is the packing member or ring 21 of the common and well-known type 45 consisting of arc-shaped sections of carbon or other suitable packing material held in close contact withthe shaft by means of the encircling coil spring 29.

As formerly constructed, this constituted the entire packing unit. and it is obvious that the share borne by each ring in resisting the pressure of the steam in the turbine casing waswholly indeterminate and might4 be from substantially nothing'to the full steam pressure, de- 55 pending uponthe condition of the other rings interposed between it and the casing. According to the present invention, however, each ring is compelled to carry its proportionate share of the pressure, and this is accomplished by maintaining a controlled, progressively reduced pressure in the series of the secondary chambers from the high in the low pressure end of the unit.

To accomplish this, each of the secondary chambers is provided with an exhaust passage controlled by a reducing or relief valve set or `adjusted to relieve the pressure in each secondary chamber when it reaches a predetermined maximum, and less by the desired amount than the pressure in the next adjacent chamber on the high pressure side.

In the form shown in Fig. 1, each of the annular secondary chambers is provided with a. valve chamber 3| to which it is connected by the port I3 controlled by the relief valve Il. The valve is pressed downwardly by the coil spring I9 which engages the screw plug 4l closing the upper end of the valve chamber, and having a central bore 43 to guide the upper end of the valve stem 45. By screwing the plug or head Il further into or out of the casing, the valve Il will open to relieve its secondary chamber at any desired pressure, thereby to maintain the predetermined pressure in such secondary chamber in opposition to -the high pressure in the next chamber.

Preferably the several relief valves in the series will be so adjusted that there will be a regular or uniform reduction in the pressures progressively through the series of secondary chambers in ordery that each packing member or ring will bear substantially the same eiiective pressure.

Thus, assuming the exhaust pressure in the turbine casing to be 160 pounds, that will be the pressure in the first or primary chamber. The relief valve of the first secondary chamber I9 will be adjusted to maintain a maximum pressure of 120 pounds, so that the eiective pressure of the steam seeking to escape past the packing ring in the primary chamber will be 40 pounds.

The relief valve of the second. secondary chamber in turn will be adjusted to maintain a maximum pressure of 80 pounds, so that the eifective pressure of the packing ring in the rst secondary chamber will be the diierence between the 120 pounds in that chamber and the second secondary chamber, which is 40, pounds. Similarly, the relief valve of the third secondary chamber will be adjusted to maintain a pressure of 40 pounds, giving an effective pressure on the packing ring of the second secondary chamber oi the same 40 pounds.

The fourth or last secondary chamber 25, may, if desired, exhaust directly to the atmosphere, but preferably provision will be made to maintain a slight pressure in that chamber, say of five pounds, which would give an eiective pressure on the packing member or ring of the third secondary chamber of thirty-five pounds, only slightly less than in the preceding chambers.

While the slight leakage which invariably takes place through the several packing rings may be `relied upon to build up the back pressures in thesecondary chambers, the excess steam or fluid being conducted away from the unit, preferably the excess steam or fluid passing the relief valves is carried to the next adjacent secondary chamber on the low side. With such an arrangement the counter pressures in all the chambers are quickly brought up to the desired amounts and with a minimum of leakage and that at only one place, viz. at the mst or primary packing mem- In Fig. 1 which shows this preferred construction, each of the valve chambers Il are connected by the always open passages 41 to the next lower secondary chamber. Thus any excess of steam or fluid passing from the ilrst secondary chamber II through relief valve 31 to valve chamber 2|, building upthe counter pressure until it reaches the desired amount when the excess will pass the relief valve into the valve chamber and thence into the third secondary chamber,'and so on through the series.

In order to have a continuous indication so y that the operator in charge of the turbine may see at a glance if the packing is functioning properly, an indicating device has been provided in the form of a dial 6i and pointer $3, which will show directly and continuously the rate of ilow of steam through the packing unit as measured at its discharge from the last secondary chamber. By constructing the relief valve as shown in the form of a cylinder or sleeve with the lateral port i5, which is substantially parallel sided from the upper or initial part of its length and then expanding or ilaring for the lower or final part of its length, the extent of lifting of the valve may be made directly proportional to the rate of iiow through the valve. A rack bar 61, engaging at its lower end the top of the valve spindle 69 and with the rack at its upper end actuating the pinion Il on the pointer shaft, the pointer will be givenfan angular movement directly proportional to the rate of ow through the valve.

If the reading or position of the head of the pointer on the dial or scale remains substantially constant, the operator will know that the packing unit is functioning in a proper manner. Any increase in such reading will indicate some disturbance or interference with the proper functioning of the unit and that attention is required either in the way of readjustment of the pressures in the secondary chambers, or replacement of worn or damaged packing rings.

In order to enable the operator to determine the proper adjustment of the several relief valves to give the desired pressures in their respective chambers, adjusting plugs or heads 4| for each valve have been provided with a plug 1i screwed into the end of the central bore of the head. By removing the plug the operator may insert a pressure gage and read directlytthe pressure maintained in the valve chamber, .which will correspond to that in the next adjacent packlng chamber.

Preferably, however, provision will be made for ascertaining the pressure by merely opening a valve, thus facilitating not only the initial ad- :lustment of the valves, but also their readjustment, if such becomes necessary. Such indicating means are shown in Fig. 1 as a pressure gage ll connected through branch pipes Il with each of the secondary chambers. The valves I5 in each of the branch pipes are normally closed, but any one may be quickly opened to determine the pressure in its corresponding chamber. 'Ihus the pressure in each chamber can be tested successively and proper adjustments made of the heads Il to secure the predetermined pressures, it being only necessary to open one valve after another .while the remaining valves are kept closed.

In Fig. 2 a somewhat simpler construction is shown than in Fig. 1. In the modification of Fig. 2 the leakage of steam past a packing ring is relied upon to build up the pressure in the next adjacent secondary chamber, the predetermined pressure being secured by means of relief valves which permit the discharge or exhaust of the excess steam from the chamber to some suitable conductor. In Fig. 2 is shown an exhaust Vpipe 9| connected by branch pipes 93 with the valve chambers of the first three secondary packing chambers, and directly to the fourth or last packing chamber. Thus, when, due `to leakage lfrom thev primary chamber I1, the pressure in the rst secondary chamber I9 `exceeds the proper pressure of, say, 120 pounds, the relief valve will be lifted and the steam discharged through the valve chamber and branch pipe 92 into the exhaust pipe 9I. Similarly, the relief valves of the secondary chambers 2I and 23 will be opened to relieve the pressure in their respective chambers. Any y steam which reaches the last secondary chamber will pass directly to the exhaust pipe 9i. Preferably a slight pressure of, say, 10 pounds will be .maintained in this pipe so that a slight presmary chamber Il passes directly in the first secondary chamber I9 where it collects until it hasv built up the desired back pressure. Thereafter any excess will pass relief valve 31 and through valve chamber 3| and passage into the second secondary chamber 2 I Here again the rsteam will collect until the desired back pressure vis attained whereupon the excess passes to chamber 23 and so on until all of the vsecondary chambers carry the proper pressure so that each `packing member vor ring bears only its own proportionate share of chamber by opening momentarily the valve in the connection froml such chamber to the gage 8l, making the necessary adjustment of the valve spring 39 to secure the desired pressure.

Similarly, with the modication shown in Fig. 2, the momentary opening Yof the valve to render the gage operative will indicate the adjustment required of the tension of the relief valve spring. While the present invention has been shown and described in a specific form, it is to be understood that it is not limited thereto, but the form and arrangement of the various parts may be varied Within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what` is claimed is:

1. A packing for movable shafts and the like, comprising a casing extending axially of and surrounding the shaft and provided with a plurality of annular chambers spaced axially in the casing and lopen to the shaft, a packing ring in each chamber engaging the 'periphery of the shaft, independent connections between adjacent chambers for conducting fluid from one chamber to another, and relief valves for limiting the pressures in the chambers to determine graduated diminishing pressures in the successive chambers.

2. A packing for movable shafts and the like, comprising a casing extending axially of and surrounding the'shaft and provided with a series of annular chambers spaced axially in the casing and open to the shaft, a packing ring in each chamber engaging the periphery of the shaft, valve chambers connected with the annular chambers, independent connections between the valve chambers and the-next adjacent annular` determine graduated diminishing pressures in the series of chambers.

3. A packing for movable shafts and the like,

comprising a. casing extending axially of and surrounding the shaft and provided witha series of annularv chambers spaced axially in the casing and open tothe shaft, a packing ring in each chamber engaging the periphery of the shaft, the ring being smaller than its chamber to provide a clearance space therein, independent connections between the clearance spaces of adjacent chambers for conductingy fluid from one to the other, and means in said connections for limiting thepressures of the conducted fluid to determine .graduated diminishing pressures in successive chambers.

OLIVER D. H. BENTLEY. 

